Wildlife tagged posts

Ever since I had gone birding at Sundarban, I had been wanting and waiting to do it again. I had been brooding over this for a while and I finally bit the bullet – I purchased a Canon 400 mm f/5.6 lens to pair with my 2013 Canon EOS 70D to photograph birds and wildlife. I already had the excellent Zeiss Terra ED 10×42 binoculars for observing birds and wildlife. The recent lens purchase made the itch to go birding even more persistent. So when the Christmas holiday arrived, it presented a perfect opportunity to visit the Okhla Bird Sanctuary in Noida. It is a good time of the year to visit the sanctuary as it is usually teeming with winter migrants at this time of the year. I requested the company of a friend and a fellow nature enthusiast who graciously agreed...

It has been a while since I have posted here. The instant gratification that posting a picture on instagram brings can be blamed for that :). However, that gratification is fleeting at best and here I am – back to long form expression.

The gang at work had been itching for a trip. The hybrid/remote work paradigm also means that such trips with the team are a great opportunity to get to know each other well (or at least better). We had previously done short distance trips together but this was the first time many of us would travel long distance together and that too on a train. Train journeys evoke fond nostalgia for most of us. The hum-drum of corporate life had ensured that most of us hadn’t been a on a long train journey in years...

Farewells can almost always be bitter sweet. A long time colleague just resigned. As is the custom, we planned an offsite farewell for him. The place chosen was Dudhwa National Park- primarily because we have been to Corbett so many times. The other thing that worked in Dudhwa’s favour was that it is home to the Great Indian Rhino. We have done umpteen safaris as a team, and the tiger has proven to be elusive except just once. So with high spirits, we set off on the 400+ km journey to Dudhwa.

The route we took

The drive to Dudhwa from Noida is a long, mundane drive but the company of colleagues and friendly banter kept the josh high for most of the drive...

If you are familiar with this blog, you would be able to guess that I absolutely dig opportunities that let me travel to one of the many national parks in India. These nature reserves preserve and showcase the unparalleled biodiversity that India possesses. The dizzying array of flora and fauna in the Indian jungles can be represented by one iconic animal – the Royal Bengal Tiger. The sight of a tiger cooling off in a water hole, confident and unfettered, and then walking with a nonchalant swagger, that only the powerful can have, and turning his gaze at the beholder for the last time before disappearing into a bush as if to say “Hey! What’s so interesting? I am just being a tiger”, evokes emotions so profound that are indescribable in words...

Bandhavgarh is popular as the tiger haven of India. A national park where almost every visitor is guaranteed a tiger sighting. People throng here in the hundreds to see the world’s largest cat in it’s natural habitat. This park has been the scene where some of the most iconic tiger documentaries have been made. It is also the home of Bamera, India’s largest tiger. I had the opportunity to visit Bandhavgarh earlier this month. It was a trip full of bitter sweet moments. The generally benevolent tigers of Bandhavgarh did not oblige but I was blown away by the sheer natural beauty of the environs here.

I had booked two jungle safaris for my stay here. I must say there was never a dull moment in those 8 hours I was inside the reserve...

My fascination of wild cats (of the feline kind) knows no bounds. And somehow, despite the taxing work schedule I have, the stars have been mysteriously aligning themselves to make such trips possible. The reason for the trip was, again, a farewell to a team member. The jungle, however, wasn’t the same. This time, we decided to take our tiger quest to Ranthambore.

Ranthambore, is a very different tiger habitat from Corbett. The forest is dry and the days warmer. However, there are pockets of dense green jungles. The undulating landscape, the ancient hills, the numerous lakes and the deep ravines all combine to create a beautiful and surreal environment. It is not surprising that the king of the jungle resides in those beautiful environs.

A beautiful sunrise at Ranthambore

We arrived at Ran...